


Super Cool

by HelloEveryone25



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Also I KNOW the title is cringey but I figured a bad pun is better than no title, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Bisexual Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Dirty Candy is a group of crime fighting dancers, F/F, F/M, Good Person Carrie Wilson, M/M, So that will also have to change at some point, They intimidate people, except Rose Molina, ill add to the tags later maybe, she’s dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28591509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HelloEveryone25/pseuds/HelloEveryone25
Summary: Julie Molina used to fight crime alongside Flynn and her mother, but when Rose got sick she put away her suit.Luke Patterson’s parents don’t approve of his... hobby, so when they told him to choose between them and being a superhero he made his choice.Carrie Wilson and her group of Boss Ass Bitches like their fights how they like their friends — loud, showy, and energetic.But Nick is acting weird, Carlos is losing control of his powers, and a new villain with a flair for the dramatics is rising, so the former friends will have to come together to save Loz Feliz before everything goes to hell.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn/Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Nick/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

“Julie I’m sorry but at this point I’m going to have to ask you to either pay for your suit in cash or return it to me. I know I run on favours, but you haven’t been out on the streets in a year.”

Julie nodded resignedly at Mrs. Harrison. It stung, but she was right. Julie hadn’t been out on a patrol since her mom died, so she couldn’t keep on pretending she would magically recover and rejoin Double Trouble with Flynn. 

“I’m sorry Mrs. Harrison. I’ll talk to my dad and get the money to you by next week.”

Julie may have been done fighting crime, but her suit held too many memories to give back. 

With a sigh and a quiet goodbye, Julie walked out of Mrs. Harrison’s store and into the sunny street.

Could she go back to fighting? Double Trouble had been a good team. Flynn was her best friend and their bond got them as close to reading each other’s thoughts as two non-telepaths could.

Her train of thought was broken by someone in a mask snatching her bag from her hands and running as fast as they could. Julie let instinct take over as she chased them into an alley two blocks away. When the thief realised they were cornered they held their fists up, ready for a fight.

Luke had been on his way to visit Mrs. Harrison when he saw someone steal a girl’s bag on the street. He ran after them, determined to help. It was what he did best, after all.

When he arrived in the alley he only had a split second to see the thief square up before the girl punched them hard in the nose, kicked their legs out from under them, grabbed her bag from where they dropped it, and flipped her hair out of her face like nothing had happened. 

It was the coolest thing Luke had seen all day. 

“Luke?”

Correction: it was the second coolest thing he’d seen all day. The coolest thing he’d seen all day was how Julie Molina’s face went from badass indifference to shocked to completely blank in a matter of seconds.

“Julesohmygoshthatwasincredibleyouliterallytookthemdownintwomovesthatwasawesomewhotaughtyoutodothatohmygosh!”

Luke was more than a little starstruck. Sure, he’d been close friends with Julie, Flynn and Carrie in middle school, but things had changed since then. Julie’s mom had died, Carrie had started a dance group of terrifying girls in coloured wigs, and Luke, Alex and Reggie had found Mrs. Harrison. Since then they hadn’t really talked besides exchanging insults in Music class.

Julie raised an amused eyebrow at him, cool and collected as always. 

“Any other questions there, Patterson?”

Luke was tempted to ask her why she wasn’t a fully-fledged hero, but he knew that would be an intrusive question. He couldn’t wait to tell Alex and Reggie all about this later.

  
Julie grinned at Luke. Talking to him was awkward sometimes, especially because of the half-baked rivalry they’d had since they started high school, but he was still a sweetheart. 

A cute sweetheart with a perfect smile, as Flynn liked to remind her. 

She flushed and looked down at her toes when he stayed silent. His stare was far too intense for 6am on a Monday. 

“I guess we’d better get going then,” she murmured, to herself more than him. He quietly agreed and they started the long walk to Loz Feliz High School.   
  


~~~~  
  


Julie had been trying to ignore Flynn’s calls for 5 minutes now. She had been counting. When Flynn rang her, again, she finally caved and picked up her phone.

”Jules! Jules you cannot drop out of Harrison’s program! You’re the best partner there is. If you drop out I’ll be partnered with a newbie or someone I don’t trust! And then I’ll have to drop out of the program, and then Harrison won’t have anyone willing to take the Friday night patrols so the city will get so dangerous on weekends that we’ll lose new volunteers so it’ll all collapse and the entirety of Loz Feliz will go to hell and it’ll be all! your! fault!”

“Flynn relax. That’s not gonna happen. Besides, Luke has something to tell you.”

”Luke? What does he have to say that could possibly fix any of this? Why is Luke relevant? Since when do you talk to him? Jules! Answer me!”

Julie laughed and handed the phone over to Luke. When he gave her a questioning glance she mimed punching someone. Understanding dawned on his face and he launched into a dramatic retelling of how Julie chased the person into an alleyway and knocked them out cold in two hits.   
  


Luke wasn’t sure what Flynn was rambling about, but he was always happy to help Julie. Hyping her up _and_ getting to hear her laugh and see her bright smile when he exaggerated how awesome she was? Best feeling ever. 

Usually if Julie got to school early she would put on her headphones and sit near her locker until classes started. Today felt different, so she offered Luke and earbud and let him choose the playlist. They fell into easy conversation as the school filled with other students. 

This felt like a good start to the week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s Chapter One, lemme know what you think. Kudos would be cool if you liked it. Also I need a better title than the current god-awful pun I came up with so please drop a suggestion so I don’t have to keep seeing that when I log into AO3


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Double Trouble is back, we meet Dirty Candy, and Caleb enters the mix

Carrie handcuffed the final criminal to a street lamp. The girls had found a group of 10 young men surrounding two little girls and taken matters into their own hands. Whatever thoughts ran through their heads when a group of brightly coloured vigilantes started knocking heads together must have been interesting.

”Do you two want me to walk you to school?” the girls nodded, still shaken up by what had gone down. Kayla supposed she would be shocked too. She waved at Carrie to let her know she would be fine to get to school on her own once the girls were safe, then let them lead the way.

Dirty Candy was a dance group many people had heard of. They had a relatively large following and amazingly catchy songs. What people didn’t know was that the group spent many early mornings and late evenings fighting crime in their own, brightly coloured way. 

On the way to school the girls shrugged off their padded jackets and replaced ski masks with makeup. Of the four remaining members, none had any injuries that would need attention or covering up.

By the time they arrived at school Kayla had caught up and they all looked like the picture perfect Mean Girls clique. However intimidating they were, everyone knew the group would stand up for anyone, no matter their social standing. 

“Flynn watch yourself! Just because you’re a self centred brat doesn’t mean everything revolves around you.”

Flynn groaned and jumped off the ground, offering a hand to help Carrie up.

“First of all, bitch, I wasn’t the one whose girl group was taking up the whole hallway.”

Dirty Candy would stand up for anyone... except Flynn. Carrie and her had a rivalry that went way back. 

While Carrie prepared a scathing retort, Luke Patterson and Julie Molina stood and entered the conversation.

”While I’m sure whatever comment you have coming is entertaining, I’m going to ask you to leave my best friend alone, Wilson.”

“What are you gonna do, Molina, fight me?”

It was a low blow and they both knew it. Flynn balled her fists and Luke knew he was missing something, but was still ready to enter the fray. Julie placed calming hands on both of her friends’ shoulders. _Her knuckles were split. Interesting..._

”Or we could just get to class. I’ll see you tonight Care-Bear.” Julie’s tone was sickly sweet and her words were confusing.

Tonight... tonight was the night Harrison had scheduled her for patrol with a newbie. Julie hadn’t been on patrol in a year. Julie’s knuckles were split. Flynn looked proud, relieved and confused, all at once.

In other words, Julie was back in the program.

~~~

Sunsets are spectacular romantic backdrops to dates, proposals and weddings. They are even better backdrops to Julie and Flynn kicking ass together for the first time in a year.

”Double Trouble lives again! Whoooo!”

Mrs. Harrison had been understanding. She had made it clear that Julie was Flynn’s responsibility, not hers, but was still proud that Julie was back. 

Until the girls were too tired to continue, they roamed the streets of Los Feliz. While it stung to face certain memories, Julie couldn’t shake the feeling that she was coming home. In her purple suit, with Flynn beside her and the city at her feet, everything was right in the world.

Julie Molina was back.

~~~

Caleb Covington was sick of all of this. His dancers were lacking energy, his lackeys were getting tied to lampposts by teenagers with powers and his son was nowhere to be found.

”Willie! Get your ass over here now!”

Where would Willie be on a Wednesday?

.... School! Ugh, education. The only things schools were good for were keeping kids out of mischief and ruining their mental health. 

He groaned in frustration and snapped his fingers. An assistant arrived within seconds.

”I need you to find out all you can about this new pair that’s on the streets. Double Trouble, or some similar nonsense. And fetch me my coat, I’m going out.”

They nodded and ran off, scuttling away like the insignificant annoyance Caleb knew they were.

~~~

All the assistant got was that they were two girls and camera footage saw them leaving Los Feliz High School before they started messing up Caleb’s plans for that evening. 

“Los Feliz High? Well,” Caleb checked the assistant’s nametag,” Dante, I think I have a plan.” 

And with a flick of his cane and a wisp of purple fog, Caleb strode out of the room. God he loved being dramatic.

~~~

Nick Danforth-Evans was having an average day, right up to the part where a guy who looked like he should own a 1920’s themed jazz club snatched him off the street and into his limo. 

“Welcome to my party, son. Nice hat.”

And then everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no outline. Whatever happens will surprise you as much as it surprises me. Drop a comment predicting/suggesting the next events of the book and I might just use it bc I’m uncreative.  
> Btw I think Caleb is gonna be a tonne of fun to write bc I just think “would I do this is if I had no filter and my actions had no consequences?” And if the answer is no then I make it more dramatic


	3. Chapter 3

Luke loved going out with Reggie and Alex. Nothing could possibly beat the rush of adrenaline when they chased someone down or the look of shock on their faces when Reggie turned invisible and reappeared on the other side of the group. 

One of the best parts was people’s reactions to them. The way they were applauded and hailed as heroes (because they were heroes). Maybe Luke’s ego was a bit big, but he had earned the praise, so it was fine. 

Also people liked giving them free things. 

“Oi ‘Lex, grab a hotdog!”

Alex happily obliged, and then the trio were off. Reggie gripped Luke’s arm and Luke grabbed Alex’s hand, and Reggie turned the group invisible. 

It was a good party trick, and it had earned them the nickname The Phantoms. Luke used his abilities to control fire, Alex controlled air, and Reggie turned invisible, allowing them to leave scenes without a trace when necessary. 

Julie loved helping people too, but she despised sticking around to soak up the applause. Knowing she was doing good work was enough for her. People like ‘The Phantoms’ were exactly what she hated. PR-obsessed assholes who stuck around to listen to people fawning over them instead of getting on with the job at hand.

Their differing philosophies made Julie’s first encounter with them awful. The hotheaded human flamethrower was her least favourite. Something to do with how he acted like he would rip off his mask and tell the crowds his full name if it meant they kept on cheering for him. Maybe it was the way he swooped into a bank robbery she had completely covered. Perhaps the way he refused to listen to her when she told him to cover his ears and then proceeded to blame her for the headache and sore ear her supersonic whistle gave him.

Whatever it was, she hated him. 

His teammates were fine. She’d internally named one Ghosty because of his invisibility, and the other Airhead because of his ability to control wind. They were both lovely. Ghosty had defended her while Airhead apologised profusely for Flamethrower’s insistence that it was somehow her fault that he didn’t listen.

Later, when Julie was ranting to Flynn about his annoying smug voice and stupid orange ski mask and dumb biceps and how he had the most impractical ability ever because controlling fire is only helpful if you want to badly harm people, Flynn had poked her in the arm and told her his ‘annoyingly toned arms’ shouldn’t count as a reason to hate him. Julie ignored Flynn’s comment.   
  


~~~  
  


“Hey Julie? Can I ask you something?”

Julie nodded at Reggie. He was fiddling with the zip of his leather jacket and she could’ve sworn he went pink when she asked what was up.

”Have you noticed something weird with Nick lately? Like, him being all weird and stuff? Especially in the last 2 weeks? Because he’s stopped saying hi to me and when I asked him how he was feeling today he got snappy and you’ve known him for longer than anyone except Carrie and she scares me.”

Julie paused and considered. Nick was a sweetheart. He was polite to everyone and was every teacher’s favourite. Getting snappy or ignoring his friend? Completely out of character. Except...

”This happened one time in, like, seventh grade. He had some, uh, revelations about a couple of people and everything got really weird really fast. He was distant though, not rude.”

Reggie thanked Julie and left. Revelations? What kind of revelations could possibly make him act like this? 

Reggie knew Nick was a mind reader, he’d found that out on accident months ago. Maybe it was to do with that. He’d told Reggie the story of how he discovered his powers and the fact that at least half the grade had crushes on either him or his best friend at the time, Carrie Wilson. Carrie Wilson. Would Carrie know something?

~~~  
  


Carrie had noticed Nick’s distance and snappiness, but had put it down to sleep deprivation and moodiness. When Reggie asked her what was wrong she knew something big was going on. Nick had always been a sweetheart and there was no way he would ever knowingly upset Reggie. Reggie’s puppy dog eyes were too powerful for that.

Carrie’s best-friend-turned-boyfriend-turned-friend-again was used to roughhousing with her. They’d learned to fight together and his accelerated healing made him a perfect target when she was still working out how to use her enhanced strength without overdoing it. Usually he’d respond to Carrie putting him in a headlock with a joke or a playful headbutt soft enough to not cause any damage.

He would never respond with a swift elbow in the ribs, kick in the shin, and a right hook that sent her stumbling backwards, clutching her nose. 

“Owww. What the _fuck_ , Nick?! You know it’s just me!”

His smile was far too smug and nowhere near remorseful enough for someone who had just decked one of their closest friends. 

She bluffed her way through a short conversation about Mr. Smith’s English homework, then stalked off to tell Reggie something was definitely wrong.

Nick wasn’t even in the same English class as her.

Caleb hated pretending to be the boy. It was embarrassing, really. The boy was a goody two-shoes with no sense of fashion or rebellion. Every time Caleb had to force a fake smile onto his face and suck up to teachers not even half his age he felt a piece of his dignity rot away.

The boy would need a full makeover if Caleb was going to put up with this. All he needed was to hold on until he had the identities of the pests putting his lackeys behind bars. He wasn’t sure if he could make it that far long.

The boy in plaid and a leather jacket was the last straw. He clearly cared about the boy Caleb was pretending to be. Caleb revelled in how quickly he shrank back into his shell when he told the boy to back off.

The girl with pink hair was an unforeseen complication. She hadn’t seemed hurt, emotionally or physically, when he attacked her. If anything, she looked satisfied. 

Caleb wasn’t worried about her until he saw the dawning comprehension on plaid-boy’s face when pink-hair whispered something in his ear the next day. They would have to be dealt with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know what you think. This is my first attempt at a multi chapter thing and it’s not great but I also don’t have an outline so I’m gonnna blame that and not my lack of skill/experience.  
> Also Carrie has pink hair because pink hair is cool


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’d like to welcome Willie to the party. He’s my favourite sk8er boi.  
> I’d also like to welcome Carlos, he wins brother of the year every year

Willie knew his father was in business with sketchy people. He knew about the jobs they pulled on banks and jewellery stores and the occasional bakery. (He didn’t blame them for the bakeries, sometimes you just get really hungry.)

Willie knew Caleb Covington wasn’t necessarily a good man. He had raised him though, so he couldn’t be that bad, right?

Wrong.

Caleb was apparently awful enough to keep a 16 year old in his basement. Willie shuddered when he realised the kid was the same age as him. Caleb was keeping a boy in his basement, and the boy was the same age as _his own son_.

Willie had to do something about it.

Nick was lonely and tired and he just wanted to get out and see his friends. The guy in the suit — Caleb, he had learned — liked to monologue about his plans and test illusions on him, but that didn’t count as the kind of stimulating conversation that stops you from going stir-crazy when left alone for 2 weeks. 

Nick was lonely, but he wasn’t expecting a boy his age in a crop top and skating helmet to appear in the basement seconds after the guy who brought food left. 

His smile was laid back and inviting and if Nick hadn’t been ready to ask Reggie out when Caleb kidnapped him he _so_ would have flirted with him. Instead, he did the next best thing.

”You want some pizza? I told them I’m vegetarian out of spite and stupidity and now they’re giving me vegetable supreme and no offence to Carrie but I hate it as much as I hate the idea of getting back with my ex.”

The guy laughed at Nick’s rambling and pulled a Kit Kat out of his pocket. 

“I‘ll trade you, how does that sound?” he suggested, “I’m Willie, by the way.”

”Nick,” he muttered, already turning his attention away from Willie and towards the chocolate in front of him.

  
~~~  
  


Julie officially hated her dad. She didn’t really, but she definitely did hate that his idea of ‘family bonding’ was her giving her brother a lesson on controlling his powers before his new maths tutor arrived.

”Juleeessss,” Carlos whined, “it’s just too hard. Maybe my job is to run your PR? I don’t need to become a hero like you are.”

Julie grinned at her brother’s complaints. When she was certain his attention was too lost to continue with their current lesson, she led him to the clear space just outside the studio.

”Ok Carlos. You know the drill.”

He jumped up and down in anticipation, clenching and relaxing his fists. 

Their sparring match started out easy. The two throwing and blocking punches. Soon they changed tactics. Julie tried to kick Carlos’ legs out from him, and he jumped over her foot. He took her moment of imbalance to step forward and send a hard kick into Julie’s stomach.   
  
She staggered back. It only took a moment for her to recover, and then she was twisting one of his arms around to press against his back in an armlock. He retaliated by kicking back and hitting her shin with the heel of his foot. 

Julie let him go and stepped back. Both siblings lifted their fists in front of them again. Carlos moved first, surging forward and tackling Julie to the floor. Normally she would have grunted and thrown him off, but the surprise and added weight of his transforming into a bear sent Julie tumbling to the floor.

“Great work!”

The grizzly was at least 2 and a half feet taller than Julie, and she’d be lying if she said its claws and teeth weren’t intimidating. She was ready to freak out and call her dad to tell him Carlos couldn’t transform back when he shrank back to his normal shape and size, smug grin on his face.

”I won!”

”Indeed you did, little man. Congrats!”

Julie did a double take. Reggie Peters was standing on the path staring at them. His signature puppy dog smile was being directed at Carlos in full force.

”Now that you’ve finished up with that, I’m here to help you with your maths homework.”

Carlos groaned.

~~~  
  


Later, when Reggie was on his way out, Julie tapped him on the shoulder and gestured for him to talk to her outside.

”What’s up Julie?”

She fiddled with one of the bracelets she was wearing.

”Um. About what you saw earlier. When Carlos was fighting me...”

He smiled and it looked so relaxed Julie knew she could probably trust him. 

“Don’t worry Julie, I know how it feels. 13 year old me had nowhere _near_ as much control as he does.”

Reggie flickered, invisible then visible again. It was so quick Julie almost thought she had imagined it. He winked, then pulled his bag higher on his shoulder and walked away, calling out goodbyes to all three Molinas. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s chapter four. Carlos and Reggie have such a flawless dynamic that I feel like I need to write but also I’m scared I won’t do them justice.
> 
> Kudos if you liked it? Comment if you liked it? Maybe even both if you double liked it??


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Nick “oblivious fuck” Danforth-Evans is a fair thing to make.
> 
> A little bit of Jukebox and Flarrie to make up for the fact that I wrote this at 2am and don’t know how to edit

Flynn glared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Some guy pulling a bank job the day before had hit her in the face and now she looked like a panda. Black eyes were _so_ annoying.

She should have gone to Ray in the morning and asked him to heal it for her, but _nooooo,_ she was just too proud to admit to her best friend’s dad that she had been hurt, lest he threaten to stop letting Julie come out with her. It was hard enough to convince him to let Julie out on week nights.

Realistically, Flynn knew Ray would never take this away from Julie. In the two and a half weeks she’d been back on the streets she had practically come back to life. She was training hard, working through schoolwork at lightning speed instead of procrastinating, and loved every exhausting minute out on patrol with Flynn. Ray would have to be an awful father to want Julie to stop, and everyone knew Ray was the best dad ever. 

Realism had never been Flynn’s strong suit though. Which left her in a school bathroom, five minutes before the bell rang for homeroom to start, wishing she hadn’t taken out her purse concealer to use last week when her home concealer ran out. 

Flynn was so frustrated she didn’t even notice Carrie Wilson walking into the bathroom until it was too late and she was stepping up to the sink next to Flynn’s. They made eye contact through the mirror.

Carrie’s stomach clenched when she saw the mark on Flynn’s face. They used to be best friends. Triple Threat (plus Rose), until they turned 14 and Carrie made her dance friends, asked out Nick, and got closer to Alex, while Flynn and Julie pretty much completely lost contact with all of their boys. 

That didn’t change how much it hurt that Flynn was injured. Why hadn’t she asked Ray for help? Who got her? Some strange part of Carrie hoped it was someone Flynn and Julie had given to the cops, because everyone at LF High knew Carrie and Flynn were rivals, and Carrie was the only one who could mess with her. Carrie was the only one Flynn wouldn’t deck for messing with her.

Flynn was still staring at her through the mirror, and Carrie finally noticed the glassy sheen on her eyes. The poor girl was close to tears, and here Carrie was taking a leisurely stroll down memory lane.   
  


Carrie had obviously tuned out, but Flynn was ok with that. She herself couldn’t help but wonder what Carrie was up to these days. Apparently ‘prepare for my ex best friend’s hour of need’ was one thing she was doing, because Carrie fumbled through her purse for a few moments, then pulled out a tube of concealer the same shade and brand as Flynn used.

”You been waiting for this day, Wilson?” Flynn asked with a laugh.

”I- uh- wh- of course I haven’t, Fitzherbert, what on earth would make you think _that_?!” Carrie snapped. Flynn made a placating gesture and changed the subject with a comment about the nickname. 

Carrie blushed, then muttered, “Tangled is my favourite movie, Rider, how could you forget?”

Both girls laughed, and for a moment it was like they were back to before. Flynn half expected Julie to march through the door with snacks and snap at them to quit hogging all the sink space. Carrie leaned forward to apply another cream before the concealer, and Flynn felt the gentle throbbing on her eye fading away. It was replaced by numbness, and Flynn leaned back and sighed in relief when it was all on.

Carrie wasn’t sure what to think of Flynn leaning away from her. She had started spiralling, overthinking it and panicking in case she overstepped with the numbing cream. Her train of thought was interrupted by Flynn handing back the tube of concealer and asking her if she could apply that one too. Warmth filled Carrie’s face, and if she hadn’t known better she would have said Flynn was smirking at her.   
When Carrie had finished applying the makeup Flynn stared at her for a few moments longer. Everything was silent. Even though it was a dingy school bathroom with graffiti on all of the walls, and the hallway outside was bustling with traffic, just for a few seconds it felt like they were the only people in the world.

The moment was broken by the shrill bell ringing. Flynn was the first to react, thanking Carrie and grabbing her bag off the floor next to her feet. After a moment considering, she leaned forward, pressed a kiss to Carrie’s cheek, then skipped out of the bathroom and off to homeroom. 

Carrie was left standing in the bathroom, holding her cheek and smiling like a flustered idiot until the second bell rang five minutes later.

~~~

Julie yawned and slammed her locker shut. Luke stepped out from behind the door where he had been waiting for her.

”Agh! Don’t do that!” she hissed. Luke just laughed in response.

He fell into step beside her as she walked towards her homeroom. There was a bench in the hall just outside and she knew Mr. Collins was the kind of awesome teacher who would mark her present and not wake her up until the end of homeroom if she fell asleep on it.

”Hey Jules, are you okay? You seem kinda... out of it.”

Julie just shrugged. She made up some excuse about a long night, then noticed the bags under Luke’s eyes.

”What about you, Mister ‘I don’t look after myself but everyone else’s well-being is my business’? What’s your excuse?”

He shrugged and made up some excuse about an early morning. They finished walking to the bench in silence. When they got there Luke gestured to it dramatically. 

“Ladies first.”

Julie giggled at the stupid face he was making, and sat down. He sat down next to her and slung a relaxed arm over her shoulders. If he noticed the way she leaned into his touch, he didn’t mention it. She was already half asleep, but she managed a quiet “thanks Luke,” before she passed out.

Luke smiled when he stared down at the girl asleep next to him. Julie was a star, truly. He thanked his lucky stars she was so happy to let him back into her life again. They hadn’t really been close friends in years, and yet here she was, falling asleep on his shoulder. 

Luke shrugged, thought why not, and let himself nod off too.

They were both far too deeply asleep to notice when Flynn snapped a photo of them on her phone and sent it to Julie. 

~~~~  
  


Willie stared across the room at Nick. They were sitting on the floor in the mostly featureless, dingy basement. It felt like ages ago that Willie had asked him about his friends at school, and now Willie felt like an expert on LF High and its pupils. 

“Wait, what about this guy Reggie? He sounds cool.”

Nick ran a nervous hand through his hair.

“Do I really have to talk about him?”

Willie laughed at how clearly flustered the poor guy was.

”Well you do _now_. C’mon, what do you like about him?”

Nick covered his face with his hands, but at Willie’s prompting he looked up and started rambling.

Willie thought it was adorable how clearly whipped Nick was. How oblivious was this Reggie guy, if he hadn’t noticed how in love with him Nick was?

  
“It’s your go now, Willie. Any special people in your life?”

Willie let out a nervous giggle, and pulled out his bun so he could start braiding and un-braiding his hair. 

“His name is Alex, and I met him when I ran him over on my skateboard. We’re friends now but I don’t think he fully forgave me for pancaking him.”

Nick gasped and pointed a finger at Willie.

”Oh my god!! You’re the skater ‘Lex met on the way to the store for snacks!” 

Willie nodded, then had his own moment of realisation.

“Oh my god! That means you’re the oblivious fuck who Alex keeps telling to ask Reggie out!”

Nick rolled his eyes and pointed at himself.

”Guilty,” he declared, starting to laugh. Soon Willie was laughing too, and then the conversation made way for them rolling around on the basement’s floor giggling for the rest of the afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Theories? Advice for how I can escalate the tension because I have No Idea where this is going from here? 
> 
> Anyway this is a friendly reminder to drink water and get some sleep babes because I relate strongly to Luke ‘I don’t look after myself but everyone else’s well-being is my business’ Patterson


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I definitely know what I’m writing. Uh huh. Sure. Not even slightly making it up as I write it at 1am.
> 
> Caleb’s life is not going well.  
> Luke and Julie both need to look after themselves and not go out alone at night.  
> Flynn and Carrie are pretty damn sure something is wrong with ‘Nick’

Things were not going well in the slightest. Caleb had been masquerading as the schoolboy for 4 weeks and he still didn’t have any good leads on who any of the heroes were. 

“Nick, son, come for dinner.”

And the boy’s ridiculous fathers weren’t making it any easier. The first time he had tried to sneak out to go to his club the one with the hats stopped and interrogated him. That exchange ended in the words “be safe, have fun, tell me if you meet a cute guy,” as a send off. It would have been worse if he hadn’t been able to get out, but the delay was an inconvenience Caleb hated having to avoid.

Caleb wasn’t going to lie, he had a certain level of respect for the Danforth-Evans family. Ryan was a successful actor, while Chad was a retired professional basketball player, currently working as a basketball coach at a high school. They raised their children effectively, and Ryan had enough flair with the jazzy routines he taught their daughter that Caleb was tempted to invite him to be a choreographer at the club. Alas, he was stuck in the illusion of a teenaged boy’s body in their presence until he could get more information on his city’s vigilantes. 

Respect for the family he had inserted himself into wouldn’t help him, so he ignored them to the best of his ability. Family dinner was time he couldn’t avoid spending with them.

It started out pretty standard. Generic questions about Nick and his sister’s wellbeing, classes, sports, bad jokes. Caleb did what he did best, he lied. He acted suitably confused when the boy’s sister shot strange glares at him across the table, and when it came time to clear up he fabricated an excuse about chemistry homework and strode out to the boy’s room. 

When Caleb finally got out of the house that evening he headed straight to the club. The basement was just as dingy as usual, but the boy occupying it looked almost... happy? He’d have to ask around to make sure no one was letting him out when Caleb wasn’t around.

~~~

Luke shouldn’t have gone out on patrol on his own. He knew it was a bad idea, but Alex was busy with homework and Reggie had a job now, tutoring younger kids. Luke had thought it would be fine, nothing bad would happen to him, right? Wrong.

He raised his fists, focusing on igniting his hands. There were four guys surrounding him. Usually being outnumbered like this wouldn’t bother Luke, but it had been a tiring week. As their circle tightened, effectively hemming him in, Luke struck out with his fist. The guy he hit stumbled back a few steps. 

The three others rushed in, eager to use his distraction to their advantage. The joke was on them, though, because Luke’s lack of focus meant a lack of control. A wall of fire roared into being around him, forcing his attackers to stumble back or risk becoming charcoal.

Controlling the fire took energy though, and it sputtered out of existence in a matter of seconds. In the moment of shock after it disappeared, someone in a purple suit similar to Luke’s own dashed into the alley he was cornered in, pursued by three people. 

They were shockingly familiar, but Luke wasn’t sure why. He wasn’t sure where he’d met them before until they ducked between his attackers to his side, shouldered their way beside him and gestured for him to help. 

“You,” he hissed, remembering the painful headache he’d had for hours after their last encounter.

”Block your ears,” they warned, and this time he listened. Their attackers — seven between them — all collapsed with varying expressions of pain on their faces.

Luke glared at his mystery saviour. He was ready to get angry at them for using him as a distraction, until he realised they had keeled over in pain. A dark stain had bloomed on the shoulder of their suit, and he had a feeling it wasn’t from spilt water.   
  


~~~  
  


Julie woke up in an alley. It wasn’t the alley she had passed out in, she recognised it as the back of Mrs. Harrison’s music store. She stopped worrying about how she got there when she realised the sharp pain in her shoulder was from the knife of one of her pursuers earlier. She vaguely remembered ducking into an alley where another stand off was already in progress. After that it was all blank though.

Her hand shot up to her face, where she was relieved to find her mask still in place. The movement apparently got her saviour’s attention, because they looked up from where they were digging through a first-aid kit. 

“You know any healers? Because I’m usually the one who gets hurt, not the one patching people up.”

Julie shrugged, and when he found the alcohol and bandages she let him clean out the cut on her shoulder. It wasn’t deep, but it still hurt, and her exhaustion after a long night out wasn’t helping her stay awake. 

“Hey. Im gonna assume you don’t want to go home in that state, and Harrison lets me crash here some nights. There’s a couch and some blankets and stuff, so you’d be fine until the sun rises and you can get home easier.”

Julie almost laughed at them. Going home in her suit in the day? Their neighbours would riot. She paused after politely declining, realising where she’d seen them before.

”You’re that Phantom guy! Where are your friends?”

She had been ready to insult them, but then she realised that wasn’t right considering they saved her ass after she passed out. Instead she let them lead her inside to where she knew Mrs. Harrison kept a box of clothes for when people couldn’t go out on the street in their suits. 

They tugged out a sleeveless shirt and random pair of shorts, while Julie dug down to the bottom where she found her old sweater and leggings.

Their silence didn’t go unnoticed by Julie, but she figured it wasn’t her business. Instead of pressing the issue, she thanked them again, slipped into the bathroom to change, and thanked god they had the common decency to let her leave without confronting her in her now mask-free state. 

On her way home Julie wondered what kind of luck let them both end up in that alley earlier that night.   
  


When she got home Ray was ready to heal her, as he always was. He asked her how her night was, but she changed the subject to his work. The fire-throwing Phantom was something she didn’t want to share with anyone until later.

~~~  
  


Carrie was completely done with this. She had planned to sneak out alone to follow Nick, after his parents called her dad to warn him that Nick was sneaking out more often than they thought was normal for a teenaged boy, and to watch out for Carrie. Carrie assured Trevor that she would ask him if she wanted to go to something happening after curfew. She never said anything about listening to his answer to the question.

Which was how she ended up at the end of Nick’s street, silently cursing everything, because she slipped on a loose stone and made a noise loud enough for the neighbours to hear. She could hear someone walking towards her. Oh god she was stupid. She should have called someone so they knew she was out. She should have found somewhere more practical to watch Nick’s window from. She should have-

“Carrie?” Flynn asked, clearly confused, “What are you doing here?”

Carrie sighed in relief, gesturing for Flynn to duck down behind the bush with her.

Apparently the neighbours could hear her. Or neighbour. Thankfully, Nick showed no sign of knowing the girls were there when he climbed out of his window. He was wearing... something. A black suit, black shirt, black bow tie. A purple cape and top hat were tucked under one arm, while a cane with a silver handle was in his other hand. 

“There is no way in _Hell_ that that’s our Nick,” Flynn murmured. Carrie hadn’t even explained yet, but Flynn seemed to know why she was here. 

Nick swaggered — _swaggered!!_ — down the path to the street, and a strange purple mist trailed in his wake. 

“Not our Nick. Too dramatic,” Carrie whispered. The girls were close together, but she still leaned closer to Flynn’s ear to say it.

Flynn turned to face Carrie now. Their faces were so close together. If Carrie wanted she could lean forward and kiss Flynn. Could she do that? Would she do that? Was she brave enough? ‘Nick’ (because it obviously wasn’t actually Nick in there) answered that for her when a cab picked him up from the bottom of the driveway.

”We should follow them,” Flynn said. 

“How? We don’t have a car.”

Flynn smirked in her adorable, wicked way, and Carrie felt all the air leave her lungs.

”Oh Ye of little faith,” she laughed, and then she was scooping Carrie up and carrying her. Carrie was reminded that Flynn was a speedster who enjoyed messing with people and also that Flynn was completely gorgeous and their faces were once again very close together. Carrie wrapped her arms around Flynn’s neck and prayed to every god she could think of that Flynn didn’t drop her on their way to wherever ‘Nick’ was going. 

Honestly, Carrie would forgive Flynn if she dropped her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... that’s that.  
> Comment? Kudos?   
> Should I let Carrie pine and suffer for longer, or let them get their acts together?  
> Also guess what’s coming next, it’s probably predictable but I’m curious about what you think it is.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just Flarrie. They’re amazing and I love them.

The girls followed the taxi to a place called the Hollywood Ghost Club. They weren’t entirely sure what ‘Nick’ was doing here, but their collective lack of impulse control led to them deciding to follow him in. 

He went inside through a back exit that thankfully had no people nearby. Flynn followed at a distance, still holding Carrie in her arms.

Carrie punched Flynn’s arm lightly and pointed at the ground, so Flynn set her down and led her forward. It was more obvious that the person they followed wasn’t Nick now, as he had transformed into a man who actually looked like he belonged in the clothes he’d left the house in.

The girls followed him as he walked through long and twisty hallways. They were all empty and they were all dark. 

He spun around unexpectedly, so Carrie grabbed Flynn’s hand and tugged her into a doorway beside them. Apparently luck was on their side, because it swung inwards into a staircase down. 

“Secret basement?” Flynn suggested. 

Carrie shrugged. At the bottom of the stairs they found a door with a nail sticking out of it. A key was hanging from the nail.

Carrie used her free hand to try the key, but it didn’t quite go. Flynn held her hand out and Carrie gave her the key. After a few moments of jiggling, the key twisted and the door swung open. On the other side was a dingy looking room. It was empty except for a couch and a person. It took a second, but they recognised the person to be Nick, the real one this time.

”Carrie? Flynn? What the hell?”

He stared incredulously between true two girls, then he noticed that they were still holding hands. They dropped each other’s hands and stepped away from each other. Carrie looked away from Flynn so she wouldn’t see the bright blush covering her face. She didn’t miss the meaningful look Nick sent her, but she was pretending she had no idea what it was for.

Nick explained everything that had happened while he was there, including meeting his new friend Willie — “he’s that skater Alex is always so flustered about, guys! Surely I’m not the only one who knows about that.” — and how their plan was to leave him there so he could hear as much of Top Hat Man Caleb’s masterplan as possible.

”Plus,” Nick added, “nobody realises I’m a mind reader so I always have a twenty second warning to someone coming in here.”

Ah yes. Nick the mind reader. She’d almost forgotten about that. Carrie hoped he had been more concerned about Caleb walking past than whatever the hell Carrie was thinking when she and Flynn found him.

He cleared his throat and pointed to a vent in the roof. The satisfied smile on his face had made way for a concerned grimace.

”Speaking of people coming this way, Caleb’s on his way in. Y’all need to get out _now_.”

Flynn gave Carrie a leg-up, then let Carrie pull her up into the vent. They swung it closed with moments to spare. They could hear Caleb in the room below, saying something to Nick the girls couldn’t quite make out.

Whatever his answer was must have satisfied Caleb for the time being, because they could hear the sound of him monologuing about something ridiculous. Considering how enthusiastically Nick was responding to his captor, they assumed it was music or dance related.

Flynn poked Carrie’s back foot and whispered that hey should get going. They set out at a slow pace, but it was the best they could manage. Eventually they found another exit to the vents in what appeared to be a boiler room. 

“Leave it to Nick to make friends while being held captive by a magician who’s disguised as him to get information on someone who’s messing up his grand world domination scheme,” Carrie wheezed, the comedy of the situation finally setting in.

”Leave it to Nick to bond with his captor over dance and music,” Flynn added, doubled over in laughter that wasn’t as silent as she had hoped.

”Hey! What are you kids doing in here?” a man asked, staring at them from the door he’d just opened. Flynn and Carrie exchanged a glance. Before the guy even knew what was happening, Flynn was throwing Carrie over her shoulder and sprinting past him.

He ran after them, and they picked up other pursuers along the way, but none were fast enough to keep up with them. When they finally burst out a back door, both girls were laughing again.

”I can’t believe we did that!” Flynn cried, lowering Carrie to the ground. Carrie grinned up at her. Flynn offered a hand to help Carrie up off the floor. 

  
Carrie usually could control her strength. Sure, she could probably lift a bus if she tried hard enough, but she could also do things without going overboard. Most days, it only took a little bit of concentration to avoid accidentally breaking things.

Today was not one of those days. When Flynn tried to help Carrie off the ground, she accidentally pulled her friend down to her level. Flynn landed heavily on top of Carrie.

”Ah, shit. I’m so sorry Flynn, I’ll just-“

Carrie stopped talking when she realised how close together their faces were. Flynn was staring down at her with huge brown eyes and suddenly Carrie’s brain was thinking _no thoughts, head empty_ , and Carrie wasn’t even complaining because Flynn was _right there_.

Flynn stared down expectantly at Carrie. There was an unspoken challenge in the air. Carrie couldn’t help but think about how Flynn had kissed her on the cheek and walked away. What would happen if she kissed her now? Would she walk away? Did she want Carrie to kiss her? Did she expect it? But no matter how much she could overthink, the message from Flynn was clear, _it’s your turn now_.

Carrie was, unfortunately, not as brave as Flynn was. She awkwardly cleared her throat and just like that, the moment was over. She could feel the heat rushing to her face as they stood up and brushed the dirt off their clothes. 

  
When Flynn put Carrie down on her doorstep they both stopped. 

“This feels like the end of an awkward first date,” Flynn joked, trying unsuccessfully to clear the air with a joke.

Carrie coughed into her arm. Her ability to breathe seemed to have been severely restricted by that comment.

”I- uh- we could go on one of those. If you wanted to I mean. No pressure or anything. I just. Never mind, forget I said-“ _stupid stupid stupid. I shouldn’t have said anything_.

“Can I kiss you?”

Carrie completely stopped. Her ability to breathe was definitely suffering now. Instead of answering Flynn’s question, she leaned forward and pecked Flynn gently on the lips. 

A goofy and completely out of character smile spread across Flynn’s face. She took a few steps backwards, offered Carrie a two-fingered salute, and ran out in a blur of braids and the dark blue outfit she was wearing. 

Huh, Carrie thought, that really happened.

It took a few minutes for it to really hit Carrie that that really happened, at which point she reached for her phone so she could call Alex. He had always known what to do at times like this.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the part where I pretend I know how to do a plot. Julie and Luke are a better team than expected. Nick's full name is Copernicus, no I don't take constructive criticism.

Caleb glared at the boy in front of him. His face was too bright and too happy. No child who was being kept in a magician's basement should be smiling. Not before said magician started talking about music or sport, two of the things he was passionate about. Something was off, Caleb knew it.

"So... Nicholas."

"Just Nick is fine, actually."

"So... _Nicholas_."

"It's short for Copernicus, not Nicholas. Sir."

"So...."

"Please just cut to the chase. I don't want to go through this again."

Caleb's nostrils flared. A white-hot feeling of _oh shit I should not have said that_ burned in Nick's stomach. 

"So..." Nick could feel his soul leaving his body. Why couldn't Covington just hurry up and get on with it? " _Copernicus._ What's got you looking so chipper this fine evening?"

"Just the new substitute meat your guards are testing on me. It's _much_ better than the last one."

The line of questioning continued in that vein for quite a while. Nick knew what Caleb wanted to know, and he wasn't having it. If Caleb wanted to keep him locked away for weeks, then he could deal with the consequences. Besides, nothing beat annoying the hell out of a criminal for Wednesday evening entertainment.

Not long after, Caleb stormed out. He was in a foul mood and it showed. He ordered three of his ~~lackeys~~ employees to guard the basement, with special instructions to check inside the room periodically. There was no way the kid could get away with anything now.

~~~

“But Aleeexxxxx,” Luke whined, “I need you to help me.”

Alex was unimpressed. Sure, Luke’s puppy dog eyes were adorable, but that didn’t excuse how Luke was asking him to cover for him on a school night. Especially on a school night when he already had plans, he wouldn’t miss for the world.

”I can’t just go out for you every time Harrison asks you to help with a new person, Luke. She assigned you, not me.”

Luke groaned. 

“Reggie! I’m your best friend, right?”

Reggie closed Alex’s bedroom door behind him. Luke’s heart sank when Reggie sent an unmoved glance his way. Of _course_ his friends would have plans on the one night he needed someone to help him. When had his luck ever been good?  
  


“I can’t, I have to—“ Reggie was cut off by Alex slapping a hand over his mouth. 

“Ow! Did you just bite me? I told you the ice cream thing was a surprise!”

Reggie gave him a puzzled look. 

“I’m tutoring Julie Molina’s brother Carlos tonight. What the hell are you talking about?”

Alex changed the subject pretty quickly after that.

~~~  
  


“Sucks to be you, loser.”

”Jerk.”

“Underachiever.”

”Disappointment.”

”I’m disappointing? At least I didn’t insult a super because he’s a cocky bastard before I realised he’s in Harrison’s program too. That’s your problem. Double disappointment because you’ve been scheduled to go out with him tonight.”

”At least I’m not the one panicking over a first date with Carrie as if she could be anything other than totally and completely in love with you!”

Flynn threw a shoe at Julie’s head. Julie snatched it out of the air and returned it to Flynn’s closet, where it belonged.

”Yeah but you don’t know that.”

“And you don’t know that me insulting this guy is why I don’t wanna see him,” Julie countered with a mock glare. She grabbed a denim jacket out of the closet and held it up for Flynn to see.

”So why?” Flynn asked. She tugged on the jacket and winked at her reflection in the mirror. Julie sighed. She explained what had happened as quickly as she could, conscious of how soon they would both have to leave.

Flynn stared at Julie, who had started pacing and gesturing wildly with her hands.

”So basically — and correct me if I’m wrong, I’d love to be wrong — you’re worried that he’s going to continue being a cocky bastard after he saved you the other day. You’re also paranoid that he took off your mask when you were asleep, will ask you to take off your mask, or, heaven forbid, is going to take off his own mask to ‘show his trust in you’ or something. Please tell me I’m wrong. I don’t want to admit to myself that you’re stressing about something this stupid.”

The alarm Julie had set on her phone conveniently went off then. Julie silently thanked whatever gods were out there, while Flynn cursed at them under her breath. They hugged goodbye and wished each other luck for their decidedly different evening activities, and then Julie headed out the door and started making her way to Harrison’s shop to meet the other super.

~~~

7 pm came quickly for Luke, who had been waiting in the alley behind Harrison’s for not even 5 minutes. When his partner for the evening came jogging towards him he looked up from his phone. 

“Hey. You ready to get this over with?”

She nodded and mumbled an affirmative. Her voice seemed to have changed since their last interaction. Was he imagining things? Had he remembered her voice wrong? He shrugged off the concern and followed her out onto the darkening street.

Julie loved her mask in situations like these. Sure, the mask was mostly there for keeping identities safe, but there were times it made life so much easier other than that. Like when she broke up a fight by using the voice of a guy her dad’s age and playing on her partner’s slightly bulkier build. She never would have gotten away with that as just Julie. Nobody took a teenager seriously.

But the mask had other uses, like hiding her panicked expression when she realised the holsters of the men holding up a bank all had guns in them. Guns other than the ones they were already holding, which meant disarming them would be twice as difficult.

“How’re we doing this?” he asked from their crouched position just outside the doors.

“First we need to get inside. If I cause a distraction and can you pick off the ones on the outside?”

He nodded. 

“Cover your ears,” she said, and then she busted through the doors.

Luke watched as she strode in. 

“Hey! Assholes!” 

She whistled, loud and shrill, catching the attention of every person in the room. Everyone slammed hands over the sides of their heads, except for one unimpressed looking young woman who simply pulled her hearing aids out of her ears.

He was so awed by how effortless she made it look that he almost forgot his job. He ran in behind her with his hands still pressed over his ears. By the time he had dispatched the third person, she was fighting too, and within minutes of the pair entering the bank, the number of criminals holding up the building had gone from 8 to 2. Luke knew most things weren’t this easy, but he had a good feeling.

It didn’t last.   
  


Julie was happy with how her day had gone so far. She and Flynn hung out with Luke, Reggie, and Alex at lunch, all her classes were relatively easy, she had gotten ahead on a history project that wasn’t due for a couple of weeks, and she got to tease Flynn about her upcoming date with Carrie. Overall, it had been pretty awesome. Emphasis on the past tense of _had been_.

 _Had been_ , because everything went to shit when — after 2 hours of working together almost effortlessly — she turned her back on her partner for three seconds, and in those seconds he got shot.

The deafening crack of a gun was something Julie wished she couldn’t hear, and his groan of pain immediately after made her heart sink. She kicked out and swept her guy’s legs out from under him, before dashing over to defend her partner from his attackers.

They pointed their gun at Julie. 

“Stay back, or I’ll shoot you! You saw what I did to your friend!”

Julie knew how to analyze voices. It was vital, considering her power literally was manipulating her own. Even if she hadn’t been able to see how their hands were shaking, she could recognise the equally unsteady shake in their voice.

 _”I’ll shoot you!”_ She mocked, in a near-perfect copy of their voice. Near perfect because it was half an octave higher than the original.

”You’ll shoot me? Do I _look_ like the kind of girl who gets shot? Unlike firey over there,” she gestured at her partner, who was using a piece of cloth to stem some of the blood, “I know how to deal with a gun being pointed at my chest. Which, by the way, sucky aim dude. You hit his _leg_.”

The tremble in their hands was more obvious now. Julie used their distraction to her advantage. She surged forward and kicked the gun out of their hands. Then, as with all of the other thieves, she forced them into an armlock and zip-tied their wrists together behind their back.   
  


A groan from her partner reminded her that he was still there. Something twisted in her gut when she saw him sitting there on the floor with blood covering his leg.   
  
“How the hell do I get you out of here?” 

His head whipped up to face her. 

“Would Harrison know one?”

“One... ?” 

He stared at her incredulously.

“Teleporter, duh.”

Julie was saved from answering him by a guy wearing a crop top and a grim expression. He appeared just in front of her in a burst of blue light. 

“Someone called?”

Apparently fear for her partner’s health had taken over from curiosity and the safety of her own identity at the top of Julie’s list of priorities. 

The young man gripped her arm and his hand and teleported them to Julie’s garage, where she had told him to take them. She knew it was risky but her internal alarm bells were already screaming loud enough about the gunshot wound that any other issues were muted.

Julie was shocked to find Ray, Reggie, and Carlos already in the garage. She was even more shocked when recognition dawned on both Reggie’s and their mysterious saviour’s faces. Matching teasing grins stretched across their lips, which left Julie confused, Carlos wondering why Julie was home early, and Ray as the only person in the room with any sense of priorities. 

Concern etched itself over Reggie’s face when he saw who was with Julie. Carlos staggered back a few steps when he saw the blood, and he involuntarily turned into a chicken. 

The guy who had saved them turned to Julie. 

“Hey, I’m Willie. I can’t stay long, but this is from Nick,” he handed her an envelope addressed to Carrie, “and this is the part where I leave.”

He offered her finger guns and a sad smile, and then he disappeared in a burst of blue light. An indignant squawk could be heard from where Carlos was sitting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok this one is... yeah.  
> I had SO MUCH TROUBLE not using Luke and Julie's names when they were wearing the masks and referring to each other in their heads bc like, we know who they are but they don't.   
> Copernicus making Caleb lose his shit is what I live for honestly.  
> Next chapter I might write what happened that evening for Reggie and the Molina boys. I feel like Reg and Carlos being brothers is the most important thing in the world


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Idrk where I’m going with this. I’ll make it up as I go. ✨enjoy✨

Nick paced in the basement of the Ghost Club. He could hear the guards outside chatting. They were playing cards, which made Nick losing control of his powers and accidentally entering one guy’s head significantly more annoying than it already would have been.

Would Willie have delivered the letter yet? Maybe. It depended. He knew Willie had other things he needed to do, but surely he had sensed the urgency in Nick’s voice when he asked him to deliver it. 

It would be fine, Nick eventually decided. Willie had already been out for ice cream with Alex. He had come back to see Nick and he had promised to deliver the letter. Carrie would be able to carry out his proposed plan. She would have to.

 _  
Caleb is too classy to be as evil as he is_ , Nick reflected. You’d think that if he can keep the club afloat without constant personal attention to anything other than the choreography then surely he could make a good wage from it. Apparently, crime was too attractive for Caleb to be content with owning a nightclub that catered mainly to rich old people who wanted to relive their glory days.

Nick only hoped Caleb didn’t see his friends coming. That would ruin everything.

~~~

Luke was fucked; Reggie knew this much. Julie had left the room to call Carrie and tell her about Willie visiting. Carlos had been sent away to order enough pizza to feed the new arrivals. Unfortunately, that didn't change how Ray and Reggie had been left with an unconscious, gunshot-wound suffering Luke. 

Ray had eased the mask off Luke's face after his kids left. He hadn't seemed surprised to find it was one of Julie's closest friends from middle school. Instead, concern had etched itself into his expression when it hit him how young Luke was. Reggie supposed you develop an immunity to most things when your kids have superpowers. 

Reggie wasn't surprised to find out Ray had healing powers. Not really. He had known, logically, that if both Julie and Carlos had powers it was likely that their parents did too. It was still a shock to see Luke jolt upright as if he hadn't been unconscious for the last several minutes. It was even more of a shock to see him roll up his pant leg to reveal smooth skin where the wound had been.

“What the fuck?” Luke muttered to himself, “What the genuine, ever-loving _fuuuuuck_?”

It only got worse when Reggie left the garage to find Luke a glass of water and to tell Ray he was awake. Reggie stepped into the kitchen where Carrie and Flynn (where did they come from?) were scrawling out notes and holding them up for Julie to see. Julie herself was on the phone, but the voice coming out of her mouth was decidedly not Julie’s.

”I don’t care what my previous orders were, Violetta, my orders have changed,” snapped a sinister voice that sent a shiver down Reggie’s spine. 

Reggie couldn’t help but agree with Luke. What the fuck.

When Julie saw him in the doorway, she offered him a gentle smile. Reggie followed her gaze towards a stack of pizza boxes and clean glasses and plates. He filled two glasses with water, and loaded two plates with enough pizza for himself and Luke.

“I- No, Violetta, do not come back to this issue later... I want you to take the rest of the week off and then come back to the club on Saturday. We both know my new choreography needs review and you’re the only one I trust with this... of course... we’ll see what can be arranged... that sounds fine... thank you Via. Goodbye.”

Julie hung up and slammed the phone down onto the kitchen bench. Her face broke into an elated grin

“Guess who just got four of his biggest plans for this weekend cancelled in one easy move?”

Flynn whistled and Carrie and Reggie clapped enthusiastically.

”What plans?” a new voice asked. Luke was leaning against the doorframe. He was staring between the different people in the kitchen. His eyes settled on Julie, who had stopped laughing when he spoke.

It seemed to hit both of them at the same moment. Neither Luke nor Julie had had a chance to change out of their clothes from earlier that evening yet. He spun around and left the kitchen so quickly Reggie nearly missed it.

Julie’s face paled. She dropped her phone into her pocket and chased him out the door.

Reggie glanced between Flynn and Carrie. They both looked relaxed enough that Reggie decided it would be fine if he gave them a bit of a head start before he went after them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit short. Bit bad. Lmao what’s a plot, we don’t know her. I’m thinking of starting to wrap things up, and then I’ll be able to go back through the chapters and edit things properly. 
> 
> Also, if you ever feel like it, you’re welcome to come scream at me on my tumblr: @nervousmiracletrash


End file.
